New Series: You're Hired

Airing - August 10 - September 4

Episodes: 22
Genre: Modern Comedy
Producer: Cheung Kin Man
Cast: Dayo Wong, Charmaine Sheh, Michael Tse, Teresa Lee, Benz Hui, Power Chan, Mandy Cho, Bak Biao, Cheung Kwok Keung, Joel Chan, Queenie Chu, Koni Lui

Synopsis
High-flier MAK TAI SONG (Dayo Wong Tze Wah) has dissociated himself from the business world by showing deep regret to the suicide of his mentor. Later, he learns that his mentor’s wife SHE MO LIN (Theresa Lee) is in great debt and he starts selling “business tactics” to the trader TONG KAT (Benz Hui Shiu Hung) for LIN’s debt recovery. Deadbeat SONG refuses to take a full time job and that makes his income change from day to day. A tough collection agent, LAM MIU MIU (Charmaine Sheh), tries every means to push him into a corner. They keep playing tricks on each other and finally become a pair of rival lovers.
By chance, SONG meets his uterine brother ON CHO LIN (Michael Tse Tin Wah). He thereby recalls the tragic memories of the past when his mother deserted him and his father. This triggers the hatred hidden deep inside his heart and leads him to seek revenge against ON’s family. SONG’s abrupt change has left MIU feeling confused.

Comments:
I'm definitely watching this series. I think it'll be a laugh out loud comedy, because Dayo's in it. I haven't seen any of his series, but he's a comedian and his series are audience favorites. I'm glad I'll finally have the chance to see his comedy. It's obvious that this series will be a comedy, but I wouldn't know that based off the synopsis. The synopsis does not show any hint of comedy, and makes it seem more of a modern drama. Then again, it's probably just not a very good synopsis.

I'm neutral when it comes to Charmaine. Sometimes I'll like her and sometimes I won't, it just depends on her role and performance. She seems a little stiff and bored when she plays professional roles, like in Forensic Heroes ll. A more sweet and lighthearted role would probably fit her better. I'm looking forward to seeing her love hate relationship with Dayo. She looks pretty in the poster and costume fitting pictures too.

Michael Tse is back after the popular Laughing Gor! I can't wait to see him again! Although I never really found the big deal of Laughing and thought he was overrated, I can't deny Michael did an amazing job portraying him. He really gave the role his all and it hardly looks like acting. I'll gladly welcome him back to the TV screen. :)

Of course, it'll be great to see Benz again too. There's no reason to explain why, he's hilarious and charming despite his age! You can't help but enjoy it when he's onscreen!

This is going to be a great series. Oh, no, I'm getting high expectations again! XD Don't let me down TVB!

Patrick Tang : 3 Great MV's

TVB actor Patrick Tang has been working with TVB for 9 years, but he has yet to gain a very large fan base. This year, he has been featured in 3 series back to back, which is getting viewers very annoyed and sick of him. (The King of Snooker, Just Love ll, and The Threshold of a Persona) I've watched all 3 now, just not in order. In his defense, it's unlikely he filmed all these series back to back. It was just TVB's decision to air those series in that order, which is probably their method of promoting him. Of course, the purpose of promoting someone to become more popular is somewhat ruined when they just complain about his presence on TV for so long. I actually think he's not that bad of an actor, maybe not as good as siu sangs Raymond Lam and Sammul Chan, but not horrid. I don't mind watching him, and I think I quite like him. He exaggerates at times which makes you able to easily tell he's acting though.

For those who still think he's a bad actor, you have to admit he's a good singer. Patrick is probably better off with a career mainly focused in singing. He has a very nice and low voice which is better than all the TVB actors turned singers. As I searched on YouTube for his music today (with no knowledge of whether he has released any MV's or songs not linked to TVB), I managed to find most of his MV's. I have only watched a couple, and I liked the ideas/plots of the them. Hong Kong music videos seem to running on a low budget lately, thus most videos are nothing special and rather plain. That's why his videos seem to stand out to me so much. They can be either explained as : creative, meaningful, or unique and unused. I've chosen to point out 3 of his MV's.

A Creative Video
????



This is my personal favorite. The video is about how Patrick is a smoker and has a girlfriend who hates people who smokes, and wants him to quit. She tries to get him to stop, but he can't. He uses many methods to cover up smoking, such as simply throwing out the cigarette when he sees her coming hiding it in places likes his shirt collar, sleeve, and pants; and eating lots of mints and spraying himself with perfume. Throughout the video, his girlfriend gets close to him various times to either kiss or hug him, only to notice he's been smoking by his scent. We also see both of them holding anti-smoking signs.

I find this video very creative, because not only is it nicely done, it also boosts the message that you shouldn't smoke. It shows how someone is addicted to smoking and just can't stop, and all the things he does to hide it from his girlfriend. I love this video because it's so creative and just very cute.


A Meaningful Video
???



This video features Tavia Yeung as his lover, who suffers from an illness and will die soon. She uses a voice recorder to record her thoughts during her last days which Patrick soon receives. Patrick is seen several times passing her hospital room outside, giving her flowers. He carries Tavia outside so she can enjoy the world one last time. The video then switches to Patrick running to the hospital as fast as he can with flowers in his hand, knowing Tavia is about to take her last breath. Just as he reaches her hospital bed and is about to put the flowers on her bed, she passes away, without being able to see Patrick one last time. The video ends with Patrick recording a message on Tavia's voice recorder, saying he will always remember her.

Although not my absolute favorite, I still really love it. It is really meaningful and at the same time so sad. The whole video is only 4 minutes, but plays out like a tragic love story. A music video most of the time will just feature the singer lip syncing to the lyrics, and although they exist not that many play out as a story.


A Unique and Unused Video
???

(For some reason, there is no embed code for this video, so below I've posted a direct link.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olrdIo4IWhE

Featuring Natalie Tong.
The video starts out seemingly like a decent MV, with Patrick and his girlfriend. Natalie is seen starring at them from afar. You'd think that she is jealous of Patrick's girlfriend as she is in love with him. If you keep watching, you realize it is the exact opposite. Patrick's girlfriend and Natalie are in fact bisexual, and share a relationship which they hide from Patrick. Natalie becomes jealous of Patrick whenever he is with her 'lover.' One of the scenes feature Patrick waiting outside the ladies' room waiting for the two to come out, thinking they are just taking a long time. We see that the two are inside being intimate, clearly showing they're bisexual. When Patrick and his girlfriend get in their car, she tells him about her relationship with Natalie. The MV ends with her taking Natalie's hand.

Hong Kong is definitely less daring than the U.S. when it comes to working gay, lesbian, and bisexual statuses and relationships into their productions. This is what makes this video more unique as the theme is much less used in HK. The portrayal wasn't too explicit or strong either, which makes it less awkward for the general public to watch while still getting the message out there that not everyone is 'straight.'

Me discovering this MV came at a good time as I'm watching The Threshold of a Persona, which features Patrick and Natalie in a love triangle/quadrangle with Toby Leung and Benny Chan.


As I've said before, Patrick is not the best actor, but he's improving and I like watching him. However, I fully support him in his singing career. I hope he will release another album soon. He sings better than any other TVB actor, so I don't care what you say about his acting.

Sammul Chan Transforms Into an Ancient 'Beauty'

Sammul Chan's new series "A Bride for a Ride" will release tomorrow, and we all know that Sammul will be playing two characters, one of which he'll have to disguise as a female. Apparently, Chin Ka Lok's character will be attracted to the female Sammul and 'snatches' him (or should I say her) home. For fun's sake, I've decided to post the pics of him in his female costume, before we actually get to see him onscreen.

That's some heavy make up. ^_^ He even has the fan to complete the look. His costume is definitely a big deal to the series, which was why they had to give him his own costume fitting.

A smile! :) He's got the hand motions down I see. Haha, he sure looks like a girl. Ancient beauty? Not really. But he's a pretty dang convincing girl..

There are more out there, but these are what I can find and quickly post. I'm hoping I'll be able to get more updates up soon using my actual signature writing, and not just quick posts about upcoming series and such and such. In the meantime, I hope these pictures of Sammul brought a smile to your face. Make sure you watch him in 'A Bride for a Ride'! :)

New Series: A Bride for a Ride

Episodes: 21

Genre: Costume Action

Producer: Poon Ka Tak

Cast: Chin Kar Lok, Sammul Chan, Louisa So, Nancy Wu, Lee Kwok Lun, Rain Lau, Gigi Wong, Cheung Kwok Keung, Chun Wong, Mimi Chu, Macy Chan, Nicky Law, Natalie Wong

Synopsis:

Foolhardy Tiger Wong (Chin Kar Lok) is annoyed with his mother Lau Bing Tai (Gigi Wong) for consistently pressuring him to get married. He therefore snatches Chow Man Bun (Sammul Chan) who is in female disguise to be his bride and arranges for Bun to stay at his younger sister Wong Sau Ying (Nancy Wu)’s chamber for the night. After this, Tiger has no choice but to marry Ying to Bun while setting up strict rules to torture Bun in the house. Clever Bun makes use of the chivalrous woman Mo Sam Leung (Louisa So) to control Tiger and misleads Leung that Tiger is her long lost rescuer. Using tricks to upset Tiger, he makes Tiger marry Leung. Since then, Leung tries every means to domesticate her husband and that almost drives him insane. Bun is relieved to escape from Tiger’s manipulation but he carelessly causes lots of troubles elsewhere. “A Bride for A Ride” brings you a modern perspective of this traditional tale and you’ll surely be surprised with its astonishing approach.

The plot doesn't seem very appealing and the silliness of it all is a bit of a turnoff. However, I think it will be funny, even if its the ridiculous and crazy type of funny. Previously seeing Chin Ka Lok in The Academy, I'm excited to see him in a lead role as he is humorous. It'll be great to see Nancy Wu again, I think she looks very pretty in ancient series, and her acting never disappoints. My #1 reason to watch this though would be to see my favorite TVB actor Sammul Chan act as a girl. Most of us have heard this by now, AND seen the pictures. I'm sure it'll be hilarious. Sammul is one of the most versatile younger TVB actors, so acting as a girl will be nothing but a challenge that he can easily overcome.

On a side note...I really don't like the poster. >.<

Message from TVB Interaction - Updates Coming Soon, Under Construction

Too lazy. Too many things to do. Not sure what to post about. These reasons (or rather excuses), and some others that aren't coming to mind at the moment are why I haven't been updating this blog to make it become the unique TVB blog (that probably no one will visit, but who cares, as long as I'm happy with it, right? :D Of course I'm not exactly celebrating the fact I've done nothing...) I wanted it to become.

For now, lets just deem TVB Interaction under construction.

Coming soon...

The Threshold of a Persona Review, along with older series and newer series

TVB Artistes Spotlights

TVB Articles....

And I'd like to make a pretty banner for the site but I'm not the best at graphics so we'll see how that turns out...that default banner might be there forever...-__-

So...check back soon? :)

A Double Dose of Natalie Tong

I've always been fond of Natalie Tong. She's pretty, youthful, and a good actress. She has played the role of the younger sister multiple times, which is how I first started liking her. Not being a TVB fan for that long yet, I'm more familiar with newer productions. Natalie Tong first caught my attention in 2007's Life Art.

In Life Art, Natalie played Belle, Kevin's younger sister. She is at first a spoiled and selfish person. In the later part of the series, Kevin's colleague Ray accidentally throws up on Natalie while drunk. To make it up to her, Ray agrees to buy her the designer shirt she wants and do favors for her. Natalie abuses Ray's offer of making it up to her by ordering him around and making him buy her everything she wants. In the last couple of episodes, Belle develops into a nicer and less selfish person, and she and Ray become a couple.


Her performance was very cute and likable. She had great brother-sister chemistry with Kevin. The two were very convincing as brother and sister, and the few scenes they had together were very enjoyable to watch. Her subplot about her relationship with Ray was amusing and cute as well. This role, along with a few others including The Green Grass of Home led her to become one of the top 5 nominations for Most Improved Actress at that years TVB Anniversary Awards.



The Power of What a Bad Role Can Do


Although Natalie didn't win the Most Improved, fans still knew she had improved. Unfortunately, her next production after the TVB Anniversary Awards wasn't able to show that. For the first time in a while, Natalie no longer had to play the 'younger sister' in late 2007's The Building Blocks of Life.


She played the character On-Kiu, the only child of a big architect. The series started as her being a likable character. Her short lived relationship with Tai-Yip (Sam Chan) was cute. The two had an enjoyable chemistry as they were just an innocent couple full of puppy love.

Unfortunately, as the series progressed, their relationship slowly died out as On-Kiu became more annoying, rebellious, and immature. It is revealed that On-Kiu never graduated college, and had faked her diploma. Her father orders her to go back to England and graduate with a real diploma. Immaturely, she runs away with Tai-Yip. Tai-Yip at first agrees to it, and treats it as just a cooling off period. However, On-Kiu does not intend on going back, and wishes to stay with Tai-Yip and never go back. Tai-Yip, although still cares for her, does not think it is the right decision and leaves. On-Kiu is at this point has become very muddleheaded and naive, and starts to think that Brian (Power Chan) is the one she loves and the one who cares about her. Tai-yip tries to win her back, even proposing to her. His effort was all ruined, and he is left with a criminal record when Brian frames him for cutting him. She soon learns she is carrying Brian's baby, and the two agree to get married. Even after all of Brian's wrongdoings are exposed, On-Kiu still stupidly stays by his side to the end. Although some characters who do wrong things are forgivable, and deserve to be forgiven, Brian wasn't an example of the 'evil turned good.'

Natalie's On-Kiu was nothing but frustrating to watch because she supported and loved all the wrong people, and left all the ones who supported and loved her. For a time, I no longer liked Natalie because of this performance. Somehow, Natalie had pulled off the annoying role too because she was able to make her voice whiny practically the whole time. You can say, I was no longer a fan of Natalie Tong.


A Double Dose of Natalie Tong


I have recently just finished watching Just Love ll, and I'm starting to watch The Threshold of a Persona, both of which Natalie are in. As watching her in likable but two very different roles, I've quickly started to like Natalie again. To this day, she is still improving greatly, and cuter and prettier than ever.

Just Love ll


Natalie plays a prosecutor, and she does a good job. She may not be entirely convincing, but convincing enough that she sounds professional. Her role is very likable, and her subplot with magistrate CK was enjoyable. At first, I found the relationship a little awkward, and wondered why Natalie is always paired up with someone older than her. However, I grew to like them. It's nothing that would become a favorite onscreen couple, definitely not, but it is acceptable, humorous, and sweet. Of course, the relationship is not smooth sailing, and starts to fall apart. In the last few episodes, Natalie questions if she really likes CK, or if she was only being rebellious by liking someone her sister-in-law didn't approve of. She runs into the guy who framed CK of assault at a bar, who asks her to drink with him, offering her a spiked drink. Later, he books a privated VIP karaoke room for the two of them, as he was planning to rape the supposedly drunk Natalie. I worried at this point that Natalie would've once again fallen into the fate of being taken advantage of because of being naive. I was pleasantly surprised that her character had been so clever. Turns out, she had knew the drink was spiked, and switched the two drinks. She was at this point sober, while the guy drank the spiked drink and became drunk. During the time he was drunk, she sent an SMS to her sister (Casper Chan) calling for help. Before the guy (whose name I forgot) can even touch Natalie, Casper along with her boyfriend and CK come and after going to court, the guy is charged. Yay for smart Natalie!


The Threshold of a Persona

This is the newest series out, and the most different character I think I've ever seen Natalie in. She plays a unmarried single mother who became pregnant as a teen. However, her character is quite comedic. She does not let the fact bring her down. She is very independent, and does not let the fact make her feel bad. Along with her mother and older sister, she loves and takes care of her daughter, who is starting primary school soon. Although she is a person who accidently became pregnant as a teen, her character is very likable. She seems to genuinely care about her daughter "Sze-Sze" and I've yet to see her neglect her or just 'throw her away' like other pregnant teens do. She is also quite amusing, with the way she handles situations and people who she doesn't get along with. In the last episode I've watched of Threshold however, she seems to be interested in Kelvin, who is reasonably rich and full of connections. I hope that her character does not once again fall into the same fate again, and I'm hoping she is smart enough not to become pregnant accidentally again.

Bottom line, Natalie is a great actress, and I was wrong to have ever stopped liking her simply because of a bad role. However, this does prove that many artistes are bashed at and criticized for characters they play (ex. Linda Chung's Yue So-Chau). I hope that viewers of TVB series stop doing so, as many talented artistes are now being looked down on (ex. Myolie Wu).

The fact that I could see so much of Natalie in two great roles after looking down on her for her annoying role in Building Blocks was like fate. It tells us that sometimes, the problem lies in the role, and not the actor or actress. Remember that!

Warehoused Series: A Great Way To Care

Cast: Alex Fong, Kate Tsui, Raymond Wong, Elliot Yue, Timmy Hung, Pierre Ngo


Synopsis:

KO LAP YAN (Fong Chung Sun), Senior Psychiatrist of Yan Wo Hospital, is a competent and kind-hearted doctor who specializes in severe schizophrenia and even minor mental illness. YAN cures his patients by not only medication but also by psychological analysis. He diagnoses the cause with reference to the symptoms. The plot is interesting, intricate and extraordinary. The Psychiatrist LIN CHI SUM (Cheung Chi Kwong) and the nurse LI YING CHUN (Wong Ho Yin) are both good friends of YAN. SUM is keen on helping people. He has cured a patient suffering from binge eating disorder SUEN KA PIK (Yeo Vivien). They have overcome a lot of difficulties and become a couple. YAN is a divorced single father with a daughter. After the failed marriage, he did not long for love affairs until he chanced upon an Inspector of Serious Crime Unit MOK MAN YEE (Tsui Tsz Shan, Kate). They have gradually developed their relationship through business contact. However, in order to avoid recurrence of genetic mental disease, YEE detaches her feeling from YAN.

*This series is warehoused because TVB has decided to air previously warehoused series Sweetness in the Salt due to the success of Rosy Business.*

This series does not appeal to me much and I do not plan on watching it, but may anyway just to past the time as my mom intends to watch it soon. The supporting cast is pretty solid and likable, but it is the two main leads that throw me off.

The following below is only MY own opinion, and I do not intend on hurting any 'hypersensitive' fans about my following views of the cast and series.

Unlikable Lead #1:

Alex Fong

I have watched The Building Blocks of Life, and although I do not think of it as a great series, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be. However, many of the characters annoyed me, and I couldn't 'connect' with any of them. Alex Fong was among the few that annoyed me. I have not seen Alex before, so I will not judge his acting too strongly. However, his performance was frequently dull and boring. Overrall, I do not enjoy watching him on screen.

Unlikable Lead #2:

Kate Tsui

First thing that you learn about me on this blog, is that I do not like Kate. I don't hate her as a person, I do not know about her to do so, but I'm just not fond of her acting. I find that when she is playing a 'good' role, she tries to hard to be cute, and uses a baby voice that annoys me. On the other hand, when she is playing a 'bad' role, she just drives me crazy with how evil her role is. Kate is showing improvements, and I think she'll become a better actress along the way, but I think TVB should not be giving her lead roles so soon. Her first lead role in Speech of Silence had been outshined by the improvements of supporting actress Elaine Yiu. As far as I know, this year, Kate will be main female lead in this series, and overrall main lead in the upcomming The Beauty of the Game. I'm also not sure if she will be able to handle a character that suffers from genetic mental disorder.

TVB is definitely trying to cover every topic and profession in their productions, first immigration, and now mental disorders. This concept can be interesting, depending on how TVB chose to handle it. I hope that the mental disorder concept will not be handled ridiculously, not realistic enough, or overexaggerated. (If it's even possible to 'overexaggerate' being mental...)

I may give this series a chance to see how the story and mental patient plots turn out.